Monday, November 16, 2009

Walt Minnick (D-ID): Not Interested In Keeping His Seat?

Walt Minnick (D-Idaho) sat down with the Moscow-Pullman Daily News for a story Sunday that contained some rather irritating quotes--quotes that spotlighted exactly why it is that progressive Democrats, Minnick's base, are frustrated with Minnick's voting record and may not support him for re-election.

Apparently, the freshman congressman wouldn't be disappointed should he be unseated in the 2010 congressional race. Minnick offered the following quote to the Daily News when discussing his re-election bid for the 1st congressional seat he won in 2008 by defeating one-term conservative Rep. Bill Sali:

"I would like to go back. If I don't, that's not the end of the world."

Minnick went on to say that he wasn't looking at his election to Congress as a possible career, just an opportunity to vote his conscience "in lieu of retirement." This suggests that Minnick will indeed be running again, but isn't particularly interested in keeping his seat for any amount of time. As if Walt Minnick's voting record hasn't been damaging enough to Idaho Democrats who supported him in a race against a far-right conservative and have been sorely mistaken by any assumption that Minnick was or could be a progressive, now they're faced with the possibility that Minnick doesn't have much interest in keeping the seat in the hands of the Democratic Party.

Could it be because Minnick was never anything resembling a Democrat, but merely a conservative running on the Democratic ticket? Another quote offered to the Daily News supports this assumption:

"I don't vote by party, I don't think that's what somebody should do. Good ideas come from both parties. Neither party has a monopoly on good ideas."

It is quite clear that Minnick doesn't vote by party, at least not by the party that he caucuses with. He has now voted against the President's stimulus bill, climate change legislation, the Democratic health care reform bill in the House, and a whole list of other progressive bills.

As has been said before, now would be a good time for Minnick to shed the (D) behind his name so the Idaho Democratic Party can find a real Democrat to run in 2010. A real Democrat who would like to see the 1st CD seat stay in the hands of the Democratic Party.

3 comments
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I'm not one to go a purging. While I've noted Minnick's base problem, I'm not going to advocate for his ouster, even if he seems to be boxing himself into an ideological corner. He does make it difficult for Idaho Democrats to hold him up as an example of a distinct choice the party offers.

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I am an independent historian, a native Idahoan, an avid reader, a lifelong fan of baseball, and a Democrat. The Political Game offers progressive perspectives on current events, Idaho history & politics, and the political world President Kennedy once referred to as a "great chess game."